The Righteous Woman
by JR Granger
Summary: AU: Fem!Dean Spoilers: Season 4 and up. Waking up with a rattling gasp and a hack, Deanna opened her eyes to complete darkness and the feeling of being trapped in a far too small space. It might have to do with the guy standing next to her, wearing a suit with a backwards blue tie and a dirty, oversized overcoat.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: So I know I have to update_ **The Proposal _**and I really have to update** _Staying Alive _**but this popped into my head this morning so I just had to get it down and share it with you guys. If any of y'all like it and want more just let more know, otherwise enjoy this little oneshot! Mwuah!**_

* * *

Waking up with a rattling gasp and a hack, Deanna opened her eyes to complete darkness and the feeling of being trapped in a far too small space. She fumbled for the lighter she knew to be in her right jacket pocket, fingers clumsy as they clamber to strike a flame. When at last she succeeds Deanna is none too happy to discover she is in a wooden coffin, no doubt several feet underground.

Fighting not to panic – she always hated tight spaces and made sure that Sammy was usually the one to deal with them when they were part of cases – Deanna flipped her lighter closed and stuffed it back in her pocket to free up her hands. With as deep a breath as she dared on her limited amount of oxygen she punched and kicked at the lid of the coffin with all her might. Amazingly it didn't take too long; maybe whoever put her here knew she'd need to get out on her own and gave her a coffin strong enough to hold up against all the dirt but weak enough for her to break through.

Then again, it might also have to do with the guy standing next to her grave as she struggled out of the tons of dirt, wearing a suit with a backwards blue tie and a dirty, oversized overcoat.

"Who – are – you?" Deanna somehow managed to gasp out through her parched throat and ragged breaths, understandably wary of the almost otherworldly man standing stiff and calm as can be on the other side of the hole she dug her way out of.

Piercing blue eyes stare at her unerringly under a head of messy black sex hair – which was a little bit of a turn-on Deanna couldn't help but note. "I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition," answered a gravelly as fuck voice that didn't quite fit the man yet did so perfectly.

"…what?!" Deanna rasped incredulously.

"My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord." The man walked around the grave to stand in front of her, staring down at her.

Mouth agape Deanna couldn't help but retort, "There's no such thing as angels." The man's eyes narrowed. "And even if there were, why the fuck would one save me?" Now the head tilted, reminding Deanna of a bird.

"You don't think you deserve to be saved." It was not a question; this man, this angel, said it as if Deanna had already done so – or like he read it directly from her mind. "You truly are the Righteous Woman."

"I'm sorry, I'm the _what _now?"

* * *

Upon reaching Bobby's – by fucking _teleporting _like they're on the fucking Starship Enterprise – Deanna was forced to duck behind one of the many piles of shit cars as a shotgun round was fired directly at Cas.

"What the fuck Bobby?!" she yelled from behind the pile just before she turned around at the sound of a familiar grunt then gasp to see Sammy stabbing Cas in the chest with Ruby's knife.

"Jesus Sammy, he's clean; he's not a fucking demon," Deanna snapped as Cas nonchalantly pulled the knife out of his chest and dropped it on the ground, doing that birdy head tilt thing again while examining Sam like an interesting specimen – talk about fucking creepy.

Sam spun around, holy water flask in hand, dousing Deanna and making her splutter.

"I was a bit thirst after four months in the dirt but I was thinking something more along the lines of whiskey," she snapped, watching Bobby march up with shotgun in hand, holding out the customary silver knife. "Fine you big babies, I'll prove to you it's really me." She rolled up the sleeve of her leather jacket, snatching the knife from Bobby before slicing into her forearm. Then, while they were at it, she stooped down to pick up the demon knife Cas had dropped and cut into her arm with that too. "There, you happy?"

"Not until you tell me how you're alive and what the hell he is," Bobby grumbled, shotgun still focused on Castiel's chest despite the last round doing squat to even get a reaction out of him.

Castiel stepped forward until his chest met the shotgun, still examining Sam critically. "I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord."

"He pulled me outta Hell," Deanna added helpfully, motioning at him with her thumb.

"Why?" Sam asked, tone and gaze more curious than accusatory, being the one in the family who actually 'believes' or whatever.

Deanna shrugged. "Apparently I'm the Righteous Woman. Whatever that means."

Bobby frowned, giving Deanna a funny look. "Don't you mean the Righteous Man?" Of course Bobby would know even a little bit what the fuck Cas was talking about, what with all his bible lore and shit.

"A soul has no gender," Castiel answered. "All that truly matters is that Deanna went to Hell for someone other than herself – to save Sam's life."

"…and broke," Bobby added somewhat reluctantly, giving Deanna a pitying look that she did not like one bit.

"After thirty years in Hell, yes. Far longer than most," Castiel continued oh so helpfully, turning his gaze back on Deanna.

"Thirty years?!" Sam exclaimed. "You were only dead for four months!" He turned to Deanna, puppy dog eyes in full force. "And what do they mean you broke?"

Deanna squirmed, not having wanted to have this conversation at all, let alone right after she got back.

"Deanna?"

"Time moves differently in Hell Sammy," Deanna finally said. "One month on Earth is a decade. And I broke. After thirty years of torture I finally took Alistair up on his offer and started torturing other souls – just to make it stop." She looked up at Sam, craning her neck because he's so freakishly tall. "But the thing is Sammy… The thing is, I liked it. I was well on my way to becoming a demon."

When she said that Deanna swore she saw Castiel flinch in her peripheral vision but when she turned her head to look at him he had that blank expression that she got the feeling she would learn to read.

* * *

Deanna paced the room she claimed at Bobby's house long ago, hands buried deep in her dark blonde hair, piercing blue eyes watching from the bed. Glancing over out of the corner of her eye she flinched at the sight of the hair, even more disheveled than usual, and kiss-swollen and spit-shiny lips. She did that; she debauched an angel – a _fucking _angel. What the fuck was she doing?

"What the fuck am I doing?" she said out loud, still pacing. "I have no right to do this. You're a fucking angel of Christ's sake, I shouldn't be think about all the hot, kinky, delicious things I want to do to you, or the hot, kinky, delicious things I want you to do to me."

"Why?" said the gravelly voice from the bed, horribly wreaked already, totally not helping Deanna's self-control.

She came to a halt and spun around to face the angel. "_Why?_" she exclaimed. "Because you're an angel! You're fucking pure and innocent, and never thought a fucking thing about sex until – dude, you've never even been given the 'birds and the bees' speech!"

His brow furrowed, confused. "What do birds and bees have to do with -"

"Exactly!" Deanna interrupted. "That's my point exactly!"

Castiel just continued to frown from the bed, trying to understand what crazy, silly, human thing Deanna was fuming about this time, all the while ignoring the raging hard-on he had going on, tenting his suit trousers.

Taking a deep breath Deanna closed her eyes as all the fight suddenly seeped out, leaving her feeling horribly exposed and vulnerable – but for once she couldn't care less because this was Cas and he saw past the bravado anyway.

"Just because you spent forty years in Hell to pull me out; just because you rebelled against Heaven and faced off against fucking archangels for me; just because you've been cast out, are being hunted by your brothers and sisters, and are falling because of me doesn't mean I deserve this." She opened her eyes and stared into Castiel's, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the tears working down her cheeks. "I don't deserve any of that, much less this," she whispered brokenly.

Staring back, staring into her soul like he always does, Castiel stood up and walked over until he stood in Deanna's personal space, right in the spot he always occupies; the spot that has been labeled as Castiel's. "I have told you before Deanna: you have the brightest soul I have ever seen, far brighter even than the sun, brighter than the most magnificent galaxy.

"You _are _the Righteous Woman, and that is why I did all of those things – because you deserve it, and so much more.

"And this?" He reached up and cupped her cheek in one of his enormous, beautiful hands; thumb stroking her cheekbone, wiping away the tears. "This I choose to give you because I have loved you from the moment I set eyes on your soul, from the moment you struggled against my Grace the whole way out of Hell, demanding I save someone else, then refused to let go once I rebuilt your body and went to restore you to it.

"And you have done nothing but fight me since – and I love you more for it."

Removing his hand from her cheek, Castiel leaned down until his forehead was against hers, his right hand sliding down to her bicep to fit perfectly over the mark he left over a year ago, sending up the familiar tingle and spark. Blue eyes peered into emerald ones, allowing Deanna to see the emotion he only recently started exhibiting, allowing her to see he spoke the truth and so much more.

Deanna couldn't handle it, all that love and affection and adoration and frustration, all focused solely on her. She had to close her eyes against it, afraid of what she might say or do otherwise. Of course, she needn't have done so; she said it anyway – and meant it more than anything she'd ever said before.

"And I love you," she said on a shaky breath. "God help me but I do, no matter how fucking annoying and frustrating and creepy you are."

She swore she heard a short, gravelly chuckle at that so she opened her eyes to be met with those insanely blue ones before Castiel titled his forward just that little bit more and kissed her, slow and tender and so much better than the lust-filled ones they'd shared not an hour ago.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Here you are, Guest, more to the story. I hope this is what you were wanting.**_

* * *

Once Sam came up with his 'jump into the Cage with Lucifer in tow' plan he didn't ask Deanna to go back to Lisa; that ship sailed when Deanna found out Lisa had a kid that most certainly wasn't hers because, hello wrong equipment, and while she's good with kids Deanna didn't think she wanted to deal with one on a regular basis.

At any rate, such a suggestion would not be the right one to make at all, not with the way his sister and her angel are always staring at each other.

When he first met Castiel, Sam didn't trust him because a) he was claiming to be an angel, which nobody thought really existed, not even Sam and b) he was always standing in Deanna's personal space, threatening to throw her back in Hell if she didn't cooperate, staring at her with that stony expression and those piercing eyes.

But then the angel started showing humanity – doubts, emotions. He started to see things the way Sam and Deanna have always viewed the world through their battle-weary eyes, started to see that Heaven was beyond corrupt. And, most importantly, Castiel started seeing Deanna and Sam as _people_, not the Righteous Woman and the Boy With The Demon Blood.

Then Castiel decided he would try to fight off a fricken _archangel _to give Deanna a shot at stopping Sam from killing Lilith – which, hey, they all knew how that turned out. But the point was, Castiel chose Deanna over Heaven, over all his brothers and sisters.

And he keeps choosing her, every time, leading to this watered down version of himself Sam currently saw being taught how to use a shotgun by Deanna and he couldn't help but smile at how silly he had been. Sure, the angel was a bit strange, and he did come off strong much of the time, but Castiel was clearly good for Deanna. It was about time she had this: a friend, a best friend, perhaps a lover (Sam didn't know the specifics of their relationship and he didn't want to).

So this was good. Sam was going to be leaving his big sister in more than capable hands, in the hands of the angel who rebuilt his sister in more ways than one. And Sam couldn't be happier for it, for him.

* * *

When Deanna saw Castiel standing before her, whole and good as new after being blasted into smithereens by Lucifer, saw him revive Bobby, felt his hand caress her cheek as he healed her wounds, the power surge he gained with his regeneration was palpable in the air. And with Heaven short two archangels, with one determined to see the Apocalypse through, she expected Castiel to leave once the job was done, send her packing to live the Apple Pie Life all by herself.

Which was why she was shocked when she felt his hand fit perfectly over the mark on her bicep and pull her up and into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair, tucking her face into his neck, giving them both a moment to just breathe while they clutched at each other. The heat and press of those arms around her, slowly becoming familiar, allowed Deanna to pretend what just happened was a dream, a horrible, horrible dream.

Until Bobby cleared his throat from somewhere behind them. "If you two are quite finished with your Lifetime moment," he grumbled, heading to his car parked behind the Impala.

Deanna pulled back and looked up at Castiel. "Do – Do you have to go back right away?" she asked a bit tentatively.

"It can wait till morning," he answered with a small, sad smile before opening the passenger door and sliding in, waiting patiently for Deanna to follow Bobby out of the cemetery and back to Sioux Falls.

* * *

He stopped by more often than Deanna would think advisable during a civil war, but you won't hear her complaining. Sometimes it was just for a minute, just so Cas could see her face and make sure she was all right. Sometimes he offered to help her and Bobby with the tougher cases, just for a brief respite from the fighting upstairs. Sometimes he stuck around for the whole night, relishing in holding Deanna in his arms or being held by her arms.

No matter the excuse he gave it was never for long, perhaps a day at most, but Deanna knew the real reason behind all of them: Cas just needed a minute away from the fighting, needed to see a friendly face, just _needed_.

Deanna tried to refrain from asking about how things were going on the warfront; every time she did she was silenced with a searing, desperate kiss. And whom would she be to push the issue, Miss No Chick Flick Moments, when Cas was clutching her so tightly it was hard to breathe? So she gave in, kissed him back just as fiercely because she didn't know when she'd see him next or for how long. And it had to be enough.

A year into the civil war in Heaven – in Earth terms at least – a year without Sammy, there was a knock at Bobby's door. The old man yelled up from the basement for Deanna to get it, so grumbling as she went she opened the door to the last person she would expect to find on the other side.

"Sammy?" Deanna whispered, still not daring to hope. This could, after all, be another dream her traitorous brain had concocted.

Her baby brother smiled back at her almost sheepishly. "Hey De." And with that she was being mauled by a gigantor – not that she had any protests.

"Damn, I've missed you," she muttered, her voice muffled in his chest.

Sam gave a watery chuckle. "Me too, De."

Deanna pulled back, sending a prayer up to Cas to get his feathery ass down here _now_. "How did you -"

"I have no idea," Sam said. "One minute I'm jumping in the Cage with Michael, the next I'm on Bobby's doorstep."

There's a telltale flutter of wings but the voice they heard wasn't Castiel's. "You called Deanna?" Rachel, Castiel's second-in-command, said.

Turning around, Deanna scowled. Rachel had never liked her; the angel thought she was a distraction to Cas and would drag him down from Grace. "Yeah, for Cas," Deanna couldn't help but growl.

Rachel stepped closer, eyes narrowed. "Castiel is very busy – we are in the middle of a _war _– I'm sure I can -"

"Yeah, well, you can't because, in case you haven't noticed, I have a Samsquatch behind me who can't possibly be here and I'd much rather Cas handled it -"

Trying to hide that she was holding her angel blade, Rachel stepped even closer, though Deanna heard the sliver of the blade shifting into existence and sliding down her sleeve and into her hand. "And as I said, Castiel does not have time for you _human -_"

"Rachel," a gravelly voice cut her off harshly from behind her, "Balthazar has agreed to join our cause and requires assistance in relocating some of the weapons."

"Castiel, I -"

"Leave Rachel." And that was so clearly an order Rachel was forced to go, though not before throwing Deanna a dirty look.

Sparing Deanna a brief glance, Castiel turns to Sam. "I have no idea how you got out of the Cage Sam, but with your permission I would like to check something."

* * *

Don't get her wrong, Deanna was happy she had Sam back, and she was glad he had no memories of being stuck in the Cage with Michael and Lucifer for over a century, but she could have done without the third degree about her and Cas.

"Would you let it go?" she exclaimed for the thousandth time as she and Sam got out of the Impala, suited up and headed into a police station to get more information for their latest case.

This being Sam of course letting the matter rest was the last thing he'd do. "No Deanna, I won't. It's been two months since we last saw Cas, and you're practically climbing the walls," he pointed out. "And don't even try to deny that you've been praying to him every night, asking if he's okay."

Grumbling, Deanna opened the police station door. "I don't know what you're talking about; you know I don't do that pansy praying shit," she grumped out.

"You're worried," Sam pressed on quietly while they waited for the desk sergeant to come back with the records they needed, "and that's understandable; he's fighting a civil war against Raphael. And from what Bobby's told me, he's never been gone this long without at least stopping by for a quick word."

"Shut your cakehole Sammy before I shut it for you" was Deanna's response before she put on a bright smile and thanked the desk sergeant for the files, turning heel and heading back out to the Impala.

"I hope you know what you're doing Cas," Sam muttered under his breath, walking a few steps behind his sister to give her a moment to calm down at least a little bit before he's stuck in a motel room with her, doing research for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Up in Heaven, Castiel heard every single prayer Deanna and Sam sent up, and he wanted nothing more than to answer them, but he couldn't

"What's the matter Castiel," Raphael purred dangerously, "worried about your little Righteous Woman?" He dragged his archangel blade along Castiel's throat – or what served as such in their true forms. "Don't fret; she will not be harmed. After all, we still have a job in store for her." He crouched down. "But right now, I'd be a little more worried about you and your little army.

"Did you really think you could win against an archangel? You, a lowly little seraph? Could you be any more naïve?"

Gritting through the pain of the blade cutting into his Grace, Castiel managed to smirk. "I'm not the one you should be focusing on," he grit out in stilted Enochian; "you forget there's still another archangel out there, along with the weapons cash."

And that was the last thing Raphael heard before there was a great flash and a scream, his wings leaving a smoldering imprint in front of Castiel.

"Took you long enough," Castiel grumbled lurching out of the crouch Raphael had him trapped in.

"While I appreciate you posing as the leader of our merry band of rebels, giving the little kiddies all the orders, I don't think I appreciate your sass," Castiel's savior grouched. "And you know you have been spending way to much time with Winchester is _you _are starting to display such disrespect."

Rubbing at his wounds, healing them, Castiel walked over, grumbling, "Says the one who has been away from Heaven for thousands of years, posing as a Trickster."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Damn straight!" Gabriel exclaimed, taking that as a victory. "Now get out of here, your fidgeting is making _me _twitchy; I'll deal with Raphael's army."

Castiel frowned. "By yourself? Are you sure?"

"Really kid? I'm an archangel, and you got Balthy to show up the location of the weapons stash. I'll be fine.

"So go, quit your human's whining."

Inclining his head, more than happy to go, Castiel went back to his vessel before teleporting to Bobby's scrapyard, intent on asking the hunter where Deanna and Sam were headed last.


	3. Chapter 3

In one of the many motels they've stayed in sat Sam, trying to sleep but failing, too worried about Deanna, who was still at the bar, drinking away her worries for Castiel. So he rolled off the bed and grabbed the keys to the Impala, ready to drive back to the bar to bring back his inebriated sister and toss her on the other bed because getting drunk wouldn't change the fact that it had now been almost two and a half months since they had heard from a certain angel. Not only was Sam worried about Cas and Deanna, but now he was getting a little pissed off because if something had happened to Castiel one would think one of his lieutenants could spare just a moment to let them know, but apparently they no longer counted in the grand scheme of things, even though they could still be used as bait, even though Castiel clearly had a soft spot for Deanna, cared for her in a way Sam had thought wouldn't be in an angel's capacity since they were junk-less dicks, as Deanna liked to call them.

So yeah, Sam was opening the driver side door of the Impala when he heard a familiar flutter of wings. Turning around quickly he saw Castiel, holding Deanna around the waist with her right arm swung around his shoulders, nearing the passing out stage of drunkenness.

Given the fact that Cas wasn't looking so hot himself Sam decided to forego the questions for now, instead leading him into their motel room and helping him settle Deanna on the bed closest to the bathroom. The problem was that Deanna refused to let go of Cas' overcoat, pulling on it insistently to try and make him lie on the bed with her. Of course he could have relinquished himself easily from her hold, but Sam could tell Cas had missed Deanna as much as she had missed him, and he seemed to need the simple pleasure of touch as well, so he willingly allowed himself to be pulled onto the bed, turning Deanna onto her side and laying behind her, offering one arm as a pillow and wrapping the other securely around her waist, the hand of which Deanna clutched tightly.

Sam's heart and throat clenched at the sight of his sister so vulnerable, something he couldn't remember ever seeing, not even after their father had sold his soul to save her life or when the hellhounds were on their trail, ready to drag her to Hell. It was simultaneously heart-wrenchingly sweet and grunt-wrenchingly worrying, the idea that Deana could love and miss someone so much she would be reduced to this. It wasn't just anyone either; it was this angel, this supremely powerful being.

Clearing his throat, Sam spoke into the slightly unsettling silence. "Is she all right?" he whispered.

Releasing a careful breath, Castiel lifted his head slightly from where it had been buried in the hair at the back of her head to whisper back, "She will be. The presence of myself and my Grace should calm her soon enough."

With a furrowed brow, confused, Sam probed, "What does that mean?"

Cas looked at Sam over the top of Deanna's head. "When I pulled your sister out of Hell and restored her body, when I tried to place her soul back in it refused to let go of my Grace.

"I thought it was because of the comfort and warmth it brought, burning away the chilling fire of Hell, when I was able to separate us I saw that her soul had taken on bits of my Grace, more so than what I had used to repair the more damaging rips, tears, and blackened spaces, and in turn my Grace had tried to siphon away that darkness, taking in the blackened pieces to return them to the startling brightness that is Deanna's soul.

"I did not think much of it, but after these past two months, I believe it has given us an even more profound bond than I thought, creating this connection between us that seems to allow me to find her in moments of distress and…"

"And?"

"And I believe our bond may allow her soul to feel when damage is being done on my Grace. That may explain why she felt this absence more keenly than my others."

Sam tried to wrap his head around that. "But wait, what about when Heaven had punished or disciplined you or whatever for growing to close to her? When you came back and were a dick again? She didn't notice anything bad was up while you were gone then."

Squinting his eyes in thought, Castiel spoke his next words carefully. "Our bond was not as strong then as it is now."

"What does _that _mean?" Castiel merely stared at him, giving Sam the impression he was never going to get the answer to that question. So he moved on to a more important one. "What happened to you man? Why were you gone so long? You look like you've been through hell."

Silence met that question as well. For several moments neither of them said anything, Sam willing to wait out for an answer. But all he got was Deanna stirring slightly, which Castiel calmed by placing a kiss in her hair, his eyes closed – oddly domestic for them if you asked Sam – and Cas rumbling, "You should get some rest Sam," his eyes still closed and arm clutched more tightly around Deanna.

With another sigh, Sam accepted that response for the time being, settling down on his own bed and falling asleep faster than he expected.

* * *

Next morning Deanna woke up, expecting the night before to have been a dream, but then she realized her pillow was really Cas' chest, moving up and down with breaths he did not need. When she stirred a long-fingered hand moved into her hair and an arm curled tightly around her waist. With a smile Deanna opened her eyes and shifted so she was lying almost completely on Cas, her hands folding on his chest to rest her chin on. Blue eyes and lush pink lips smiled softly back at her.

"Hey," she whispered, straining up to place a brief kiss on those lips.

"Hello Deanna," came the accustomed greeting.

With a huff and a trademark smirk Deanna pulled out of Cas' arms and pulled back her arm to punch him in the face – and he let her, even making it so that she wouldn't break her hand like last time, knowing she needed to take her frustrations out on him. Realizing this Deanna kept punching – and she was no slouch – as she yelled at him, even when she saw his injuries, which she knew were only still there from damage to his Grace.

"What – were – you – thinking? You stupid – sonuvabitch!" she heaved through haggard breaths. "Raphaelf captured you, didn't he?" In the bed next to them Sam woke up, asking what was going on, but Deanna ignored him in favor of beating on the angel beneath her.

"You were worried, I know -" Cas began.

"_Worried?_" Deanna exclaimed, scrambling back off the bed to gesture wildly, incensed. "I could _feel _in my soul that something was WRONG but I didn't know what; I couldn't tell! I just knew you were in pain, and no matter how many times I fucking begged – begged! Me! You know how fucking humiliating that still is?! – you didn't come down."

Sitting up in the bed, Castiel just took it, knowing how much pain his capture put her through. "I'm sorry," he rumbled.

Huffing again, Deanna crossed her arms. "So. What happened? How'd you get out? You somehow get the drop on ninja dick?"

"So to speak," Castiel said. "Raphael is dead."

Sam shot out of bed. "What? _How? _I mean, no offense, but he's an archangel, how could you have?"

Castiel chose his words carefully. "I had… help."

"From an archangel?" queried Sam incredulously. "After Lucifer ganked Gabriel, Raphael is the last one."

"What, you thought Cassy here was Dad's only favorite?" demanded a gratingly familiar voice from behind Sam and Deanna.

"Gabriel?!" both Winchesters gasped, spinning around to face the archangel.

Deanna continued, "How – What – I thought we were done with your crazy ass!"

"Gabriel was brought back to support our cause," Castiel explained, getting up from the bed to stand between the siblings – within Deanna's personal space of course. "Though he did take longer than anticipated to find Raphael."

"What can I say?" Gabriel shrugged. "I didn't think Raphy'd be so obvious. Guess I shoulda known better."

Holding up a hand in front of her, Deanna inquired, "Hold up. You mean to tell me getting captured was part of the plan?" She glared at Castiel. "Again, what the fuck were you thinking?"

"Cool it kid, he thought he was gonna be home by dinner," cut in Gabriel.

Next she turned on him. "So it's _your _damn fault his Grace got all torn to hell?"

"And look what it got us: the end of the civil war; peace in Heaven and whatnot. And the damage isn't all that bad, so now you can go back to tugging him along on a leash."

"Leash?!" Deanna turned once again to Cas. "Is that what I do, tug you around on a leash? That what this is to you?"

To Sam, Castiel looked like he was trying really hard not to roll his eyes in exasperation at the absurdity of humans. Instead he stepped ever closer to catch Deanna's eyes, which were still promising fiery torture and imminent death. "You know that's not what this is," he murmured intimately, making Sam feel awkward and Gabe roll his eye. Their eyes held in their signature-unending stare, during which they seemed to come to some sort of understanding, as Deanna sighed and seemed to melt infinitesimally and Castiel's eyes shone a fracture more brightly.

Feeling the moment had last more than long enough, Gabe announced loudly, "Not that this hasn't been a blast – well, actually, it hasn't – but someone's gotta tell the winged butt monkeys what to do, so I'm not." And with a flourishing snap he was gone.

"Soooo," Sam said when nobody else spoke up, "about that 'profound bond'." Then he looked expectantly at Castiel.

Glancing between Sam and Cas, brow furrowed in consternation, Deanna was stumped. "What are you talking about? What the hell is a 'profound bond'?"

Sending an incredibly scathing Sam's way, Castiel tried to find a way to explain, speaking vigilantly. "Do you recall how I told you that your soul refused to let go of my Grace when I restored your body?"

Every time she remembered that conversation Deanna couldn't help but scowl as her heart skipped. God, when did she become such a girl? "Yeah…"

Sam tried hard not to snicker at how much Castiel was obviously struggling with the conversation – an oddity indeed, which was what made it so funny – but a small chuckle slipped out and he tried to turn it into a cough, earning him another glare.

"Well, when I managed to – dislodge you, your soul had somehow taken on more of my Grace than I had already used to heal the more damaged parts of your soul, and my Grace in turn took bits of your soul."

"So that's why I knew there was something wrong but not what?" Nod. "Wait, then why didn't I know anything was up when those assholes had you before, when you got kicked out of Jimmy?"

"Don't even try that question De, I already did," Sammy finally spoke up again, "not getting anything more than 'our bond is strong now than it was then', which explains nothing."

"Care to enlighten me _sweetheart_?"

Cringing, Sam braced himself; Deanna only used that endearment sarcastically.

"When our – relationship – changed and we started having sexual intercourse -"

"Oh God," Sam groaned, absolutely not needing to hear about his sister's sex life.

Castiel continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "- you started taking on more of my Grace -"

"How?" Deanna intruded this time.

Grimacing slightly, Castiel said, "When I died at Chuck's and was then restored, Jimmy did not return with me, making this vessel mine alone," he explained. "Given that, my Grace interacts with this body differently, weaving itself through all my – bodily functions."

Letting that sink it, Castiel stood incredibly still, bracing himself, not relishing what Deanna's no-doubt extreme reaction.

"Oh," she said, then when it really sunk in, "_oh_. That's – that's a new one."

"I'll say," muttered Sam. The other two actively ignored him, making him roll his eyes.

"Does – does that – change me or anything? Will I get freaky angel mojo powers?" Deanna worried.

A shake of the head. "Not unless we – complete the bond." When that got a raised brow, Cas elaborated. "There is a method of bonding an angel and his charge that allows both to locate the other, allows 'telepathic' communication, and gives the charge enhanced abilities such as improved healing. As far as any others I am currently unaware, as a full bond has few documented occurrences."

Pursing her lips as she thought it out, Deanna asked, "And what would we have to do to – achieve a 'full bond'?"

"You're actually considering this?!" Sam exclaimed, skeptical.

"Hey, why not? Could come in handy!" That wasn't it though; Sam knew how restless Deanna had been the past few months, and she probably figured with the connection she would be able to tell if he was well.

"Deanna, this is not something one does lightly."

"Since when do I do anything 'lightly'?" Stepping closer to Castiel until there was barely anything aside from their clothes separating them, Deanna stroked the back of her hand down his side under the overcoat, capturing his gaze. "Come on, humor me. Just tell me what we would have to do."

Incredibly uncomfortable again, Sam began squirming, itching to leave but wanting to know as well.

Relenting, Cas told them what he knew. "It involves a blood exchange, along with Enochian blood sigils and a ritual using certain bones, organs, wood -"

"Okay okay, I get it; it'd be a witch's wet dream," she grimaced, contemplating. After several moments – far too soon in Sam's opinion – Deanna said with determination, "Let's do this bitch."

Searching her eyes, Castiel seemed to come to the conclusion that Deanna was of sound mind and this was a good idea, because next thing he said was, "Okay. We should return to Bobby Singer's house to do this," which Sam thought was just crazy because they barely knew anything about what this ritual and full bond entailed; Cas said so himself. Which Sam pointed out.

"Sam, you know full well I would never willingly do something to endanger you or your sister," Castiel reassured. "And Deanna is right; this may come to be an advantage because, while Lucifer is once again in his cage and Heaven is no longer at war, we never know what might happen next."

"See Sammy," Deanna gloated, waggling her eyebrows, "I was right."

Conceding that, okay, they may be right, and it'd help Deanna in the long run – and it wasn't like they were gonna listen to him anyway, Sam retorted, "Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything," prompting her to flip him off before Cas teleported them to Bobby's with absolutely no warning – oddly reminiscent of the old days, when Cas was just the slightly rebellious angel who pulled Deanna out of Hell, Deanna taking every chance she could get just to get some sort of reaction out of him.

One would think the angel was looking forward to completing the bond.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Rating goes up with this chapter because, whoa, hetero sex. Never thought I'd write any of that... And, uh, sorry if you weren't wanting sex but, you should know, I'm a bit of a perv, and so is Deanna, so it was sort of inevitable for a multi-chapter...**_

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Before she had the chance to yell about it Castiel was gone and back in a second, the Impala with him, Bobby following close behind when he came out of the house, demanding to know what in tarnation was going on that they couldn't arrive like normal people, without angelic assistance. While Sam tried to explain Cas went up to Deanna, grabbed her by the front of her shirt, and placed a rough kiss on her lips that took her breath and left her slightly dazed before zapping out again, no doubt to start gathering the ingredients.

Shaking away the daze, Deanna turned back to Sam and Bobby, just then realizing they had stopped talking and were staring at her with a combination of exasperation, pity, confusion, and understanding – which was all kinds of fucked up because that made no sense whatsoever.

"What?" she demanded defensively, crossing her arms and widening her stance in preparation for whatever rant Bobby was gonna lay on her and whatever heartfelt discussion Sammy was gonna try to force on her.

"Nothin'," Bobby sassed back, "just wondering what in the hell you were drinkin' to think bonding yourself to an angel is a good idea."

Scowling at Sam, who had a self-righteous expression of all things, she responded, "And did Sammy happen to mention the perks?"

"Which are far outweighed by how little we know about this!" Sam continued his rant from just a few minutes ago.

Deanna snorted. "Says you." When Sam continued to have a skeptical expression she decided to try a different tactic. "Sammy, I _need _this," she said, trying to convey that in her voice and eyes. "You don't know how much."

Sighing, her brother seemed to crumple. "I know De," he mumbled.

"Buncha idjits," Bobby grumbled as he went back in the house, not bothering to see if the siblings were following and not really caring. Either way, they weren't making a mess in his library because of some ritual _again_.

It was awhile before Castiel returned with all of the ingredients motioning for Deanna to follow to the middle of the scrapyard where he began setting everything up. Deanna stood to the side itching to help in some way but not knowing how so she just fidgeted as she watched Cas cut his palm to draw out the necessary sigils in the dirt.

"Is that really a good idea?" she spoke up gruffly, Castiel ignoring her in favor of finishing up the last sigil. "Won't they be ruined by the wind shifting the dirt?"

"The ritual calls for exactly that," Cas answered, moving on to burning herbs in a bowl. "It symbolizes the fluidity of our bond, how we will give and take soul and Grace." He motioned her to come over, holding out the knife for her to cut her forearm over the bowl, the blood somehow boiling though there was no fire, Cas mixing it using first some sort of wood, stirring it clockwise before crushing it to mix in as well, then stirring counterclockwise with a small femur. Next he directed her to stand directly across from him one foot from the bowl, all the while chanting something in Enochian.

From the garage Bobby and Sam watched, resisting the urge to get closer because Deanna asked them to keep their distance in case things got pear-shaped and exploded or something and Castiel pretty much agreed. Even from so far away it was interesting; they could just feel the ancient power flowing in the air between Cas and Deanna who seemed absolutely enraptured, her eyes trained unerring on Castiel who of course stared right back, even as he added things to the bowl.

Throughout the ritual Deanna felt something stirring deep in her chest and in her mind, similar to the tingle she felt when Cas healed her or touched the scar on her bicep but all at once more and less intense, almost like a delicious itch. The feeling became _more _as Castiel spoke louder and more rapidly until all his words were bleeding together and he was shouting, the itch and her angel's eyes becoming the only things Deanna was aware of.

Then, with a flash of blinding light similar to when Castiel smote something or an angel died, silence fell, deafening and all encompassing.

After just a moment Deanna's vision cleared and along with it came two new senses of sorts. In her brain she could still feel that itch, calmed slightly, and somehow she was able to understand it. It told her – not in words, more of a feeling but not quite – that Cas was standing right in front of her, watching her carefully, he too exploring this new sense.

The other sense was a weird combination of sight and sound – but again it was more of a feeling, one that sort of tickled when a contemplative hum sounded, followed closely by Castiel's voice.

_Interesting, _it said. _I can feel your emotions far more keenly. _

_Yeah? _Deanna responded instinctively. _What am I feeling?_

She felt as well as saw Cas smirk, which he no doubt learned from her because it would be just how she would respond. _Curiosity… Contentment…_

_ Arousal, _he finished pointedly, the itch intensifying as he stepped closer.

_Arousal huh? _Deanna flirted back, again instinctively. _That's news to me. _She experimented, tugging on what she knew to be Grace lodged over the handprint, Castiel chuckling when that urged him to continue even closer. _Though it's a feeling I seem to have constantly in your presence._

He raised an eyebrow, still smirking.

_What can I say? _she smirked. _I can't help myself._

Castiel full on smiled as he practically purred, bearing down on her, _I wouldn't want you to. _

Deanna had just enough time to think to herself, _Fuck I really have corrupted an angel, _before Castiel kissed her, hands slotting into their customary spots on her bicep and in the curve of her lower back. As soon as contact was made the itch increased till the handprint and her brain felt like they were both dangerously close to experiencing orgasm, causing Deanna to break away with a sharp gasp.

"What the fuck was that?" she exclaimed out loud.

"Hmm… The contact and proximity must increase the bond somehow," Castiel mused. "Or we open ourselves to each other." He shrugged mechanically.

Deciding to experiment even more, Deanna reached out to drag her fingers lightly up Castiel's throat, along his jaw, across his cheekbone, and through his hair. This time the itch remained at 'base levels'.

Arching a brow Castiel observed, "Open ourselves to each other then."

Humming in agreement, Deanna pondered, "If it gets that intense during a kiss and we let down our guards, I wonder what it'll be like during sex." She looked up at Cas then, seeing what he thought – and he most certainly did not disappoint.

"We'll never know if we don't test it out," he murmured into her ear before zapping them upstairs, all of this happening before Bobby and Sam stirred in the garage, where the flash had knocked them out.

Upstairs Castiel and Deanna were undressing each other as quickly as they could, too long had it been since they last saw each other, even more so since the last time they were able to be… intimate.

In her mind Deanna could hear Cas' thoughts, how focused he was on getting her naked and on her back beneath him, above him and fucking herself in his lap; how much he wanted, needed to pleasure her with his fingers, his tongue. She was sure Cas could hear hers as well, how set she was to place bites and kisses all over his body; how she needed the feel of his muscles shifting beneath her nails.

The very idea that they could hear each other's thoughts, plans, wants, and needs, not just inherently know them as they usually did, made the both of them moan, fingers stuttering over buttons and flies. The near electric itch that touch brought merely added to the excitement.

At last they managed to throw off every shred of clothing, falling back on the bed in the room reserved for Deanna since childhood, angel on top. He made use of having the high ground, moving down to take one tit in his mouth and tweak the other with his hand, his other hand inching further down to insert itself between her legs. Breath hitching, Deanna curled one hand in his hair, the other clutching and twisting the sheets; it seemed even after Raphael tortured his Grace and tried to pry into his head Cas still knew just how to make her knees tremble and her toes curl, making her come in a matter of minutes.

"You – ass," panted Deanna, making him chuckle triumphantly before he removed his hand, sucked his fingers clean – an action that would never stop being fucking hot – then replaced it with his mouth. "Ah – hah – fuuuuck meeee."

_That'll be next, _Cas thought directly at her while he hummed, his mouth on her clit, kissing and suckling. Deanna's hands tightened their holds on his hair and the sheets, her back bowing as she moaned Cas' name long and loud.

Pulling him up by his hair, Deanna kissed him hard and dirty, keening at the taste of herself on his tongue. Her legs wrapped themselves around Cas' waist so that her heels were just behind his ass, giving her the leverage to push him up and closer, needing to feel his cock inside her.

Reading the message loud and clear, Castiel pulled back from the kiss and planted his hands on either side of her head for easier movement. Then, together they moved, the placement of Deanna's heels helping Cas shove in home, groaning at the wet, slick, tight heat, his head dropping to her shoulder. Breathing quick and heavy, he rocked his hips, shifting the angle every few thrusts in order to hit all the sweet spots, needing the sound of her ratcheting, keening moans while her nails dug sharply into his back, just under the curve of his shoulder blades, right where his wings protrude. Even with them being in another dimension, where Deanna could not see them with her weak human eyes, she still seemed to know exactly what to do to make electric heat and pleasure rack through them, bringing a new thought to Castiel.

"Are you able to sense my wings right now?" he gasped, lifting his head and opening his eyes to look at her.

Smirking and digging in both her heels and nails more sharply, pushing Castiel in impossibly further and drawing twin gasps when he hit the best spot that caused her walls to constrict in flutters around his dick, and zinging more electricity through his wings that urged him to move faster and harder, Deanna grunted, "Yeah, actually; my hands get more tingly the closer they are."

Buried so deep his balls are smacking soundly on the insides of her thighs, Cas kept thrusting roughly and without rhythm, Deanna meeting each one by simultaneously shoving herself up and Cas down using her heels. Soon Cas could feel the wave of his orgasm crashing closer, spurred on by the digging of Deanna's nails, no doubt drawing blood now, and the spasming of her walls, her moans rising in pitch and frequency. Finally he came, when Deanna was so sensitive from so many orgasms in a row she didn't know how much more she could take, Cas buried deep as he could go without fusing them together at the groin.

Pulling out with what little energy he had left, he collapsed on top of her, using one of her breasts as a pillow, as he was wont to do while he cooled down from sex. Deanna stroked fingers through Cas' wild hair, as was her custom, even though her limbs were heavy and sated and moving was the last thing they wanted to do. After several minutes of post-coital cuddling, during which both their breathing slowed down to normal, Deanna opened her eyes and lifted her head, chuckling tiredly and a bit proudly at Castiel's shoulder blades and back, where her nails had punctured the skin in half-moons and scratches, blood trailing down. What made her even happier was that she knew Cas would let them heal normally; enjoying the reminders as she cleaned them up for him and he felt them pull and ache and scab over.

The intense itch had subsided so that it was now just a slight tingle at the back of her brain and deep in her chest and skin, most likely sated by the amazing sex. Castiel gave a chuckle at that, even more gravelly than normal.

"That is most likely the case," he muttered into her chest, lips and stubble grazing the skin, "but we should work on our guard so it isn't constantly tense like that."

"Mmn good idea," Deanna agreed, tugging on his hair lightly to get him to look up. "That was pretty great though."

Smiling lazily in agreement, Cas lifted himself up a little to give her a chaste yet lingering kiss before rolling out of the bed and searching for his clothes. "We should go back downstairs and check on Bobby and Sam, make sure the flash of Grace didn't harm them."

With a sigh Deanna said, "Yeah, they're probably wondering where we are too," as she got up and started dressing again as well before remembering to clean his back, leading him to the upstairs bathroom down the hall. Once that was done, just as Cas opened the door she decided to try another thing out, reaching out till her hands tingled immensely then stroking down and out, drawing a shiver out of him and making her smirk as she drew back and walked past him and toward the stairs, Cas grumbling vague threats at her through the bond, Deanna outright laughing her way down the stairs.

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_**Hope you enjoyed that. ;) And if you're confused about any aspects of the bond just let me know and I'll try to clarify next chapter, mkay? *kisses***_


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Castiel and Deanna set foot in the study Bobby and Sam accosted them, demanding to know if the ritual worked and what all Deanna could now supposedly do.

"Well I can sense and touch his wings," she replied in a sort of smug tone before doing just that, making Castiel shiver while he held back a moan as she somehow found the most sensitive spot on each wing and just dug her fingers in.

_I would advise you not to ever touch my wings in the presence of anyone else, but most especially your brother and pseudo-father, _he growled, Deanna stifling a triumphant chuckle.

_What's the matter baby? Can't handle a little pleasure? _

In retaliation he brushed his wing against his brand on her bicep, which drew a combination yelp/moan as electricity zinged through her body while Sam and Bobby gave her puzzled looks. "He, uh, touched his handprint, which already felt weird enough, but with the bond his touch gives off this sort of electric itch through my nerves, and it's really intense when he touches the brand and like ten times worse when it's with his wing, which is just his Grace or whatever."

Frowning as he tried to understand, Sam asked, "It doesn't hurt though does it?"

Deanna shook her head. "Nah man, feels kinda good actually." Which just made Cas smirk this time – not with his mouth though, just his eyes, because this was Cas – making her roll her eyes. "It's the same in my head," she tapped her temple; "there's this sort of electric itch that tells me where he is and if he's hurt or anything. Oh and we can communicate telepathically, which is badass."

"You can tell where he is?" Bobby asked skeptically, getting a nod in answer. "Precisely?"

"We have yet to test the accuracy," Cas responded, "but we could now."

Getting an idea Deanna agreed. "Yeah! Okay Cas, you take Sam and zap somewhere where he can tell exactly where you are," she turned to Sam, "and Sammy, you call me as soon as you get there and I'll say what the 'itch' is tellin' me. Sound like a plan?"

"Wait, how do we know Feathers here won't just tell you where he is?" Which was a legitimate question, but Deanna waved it off.

"We have to think the thoughts directly at each other and Cas wants to know my limits just as much as we do." She could sense the smirk and the coming of a lecherous comment – damn Cas has spent far too much time with her – so she backhand slapped his wing and making him cringe and her smirk.

Making sure he had his phone Sam gave a nod and with a flex of slightly tingly wing they were off. A minute later Deanna's phone rang and she put it on speaker.

**"All right De, where are we?"**

As she 'listened' to the itch – which, okay, weird concept but whatever – Deanna cocked her head much like Cas, making Bobby snort. "You are… at Dale's Family Restaurant in Hot Springs, South Dakota."

**"Yeah actually," **Sam said, clearly amazed while Bobby whistled in appreciation at the preciseness on the home end.

Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, they have the flakiest, most delicious pie I have ever found! Can you get me a piece? Any flavor would be awesome."

A rare raspy chuckle sounded through the tiny phone speaker. **"Why do you think I came here, Deanna?" **

Squealing – an act which she would forever deny – she gushed, "Have I ever told you how fucking awesome you truly are?"

**"Mm, I believe you have on occasion, yes," **Castiel replied, smug and clearly smothering another chuckle.

At this point Bobby decided to cut in. "All right love birds how 'bout we try a bigger distance than a few hours away?"

"But, my pie," Deanna pouted.

Bobby rolled his eyes but before he could make a sarcastic response Castiel said, **"I will bring the pie to you then Sam and I will go elsewhere." **And, because this was Cas, he hung up without another word even though they'd been talking on Sam's phone.

They didn't have long to wait; a few minutes later Sam and Cas zapped into the spaces they previously occupied this time bearing piping hot and damn scrumptious flaky cherry pie, which Deanna took off Sam's hands with a huge smile and a wink of a promise for thanks later before she dug in and the angel and brother disappeared again.

When the next call came Bobby answered, as Deanna was busy savoring her last bite. "Hold on, princess has to finish her pie."

She stuck out her pie-laden tongue before swallowing and concentrating on the 'signal'. "Inside of Big Ben," she said carefully, not wanting to be over-eager and get it wrong.

**"Yes" **came the even more awed reply though that may have had something to do with Sammy's current location, the little nerd. Except Bobby sounded just as impressed when he mutter "damn girl" (which would forever sound hilarious in his drawl).

Neither Bobby nor Deanna noticed the call had ended until the flap of wings sounded next to them and Deanna felt the tender brush of a wing on the handprint brand again, though this time it was just a slightly more intense tingle than what Castiel's presence brought – he probably did it on purpose, the bastard.

"That. Was. Amazing," Sam said as soon as Bobby and Deanna were facing him and Cas. "Can you do the telepathy thing from that far away too?"

Deanna shrugged while Castiel said, "I don't see why not."

And with that the rest of the day was spent testing out what all Deanna could now do with the completion of the bond, interspersed with Castiel and Deanna messing with each other, trying to see who could get a more drastic reaction – which of course led to more experimentation of their own, taking their time this time around.

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_**A/N: All right folks, apologies for the incredibly short chapter this time around, but I wanted to get the initial bond experiments out of the way before I started the next part of the storyline - which will include Gabriel, as I know some readers will be very happy about indeed. That's all the spoilers you get though, so just you wait patiently darlins! Until then, mwuah!**_


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a few days since Cas had left on angel business – of what sort exactly Deanna didn't particularly care, as long as that itch informed her he was fine. Plus it wasn't like she couldn't just send a telepathic telegram if they needed for anything 'of import', as Cas had worded it before he left with a brief eye-smile and a flutter. Which Deanna had been considering – calling him up for help that is – because this case she and Sam were working, a mutilated body that neither they nor Bobby could figure out the cause of, was looking like it needed a fresh, angelic eye. So maybe it was just coincidence that just as Deanna was starting to give in to Sam's suggestion to recruit Cas' help, even though she could tell he was otherwise occupied, that something happened to give her a bit of a push.

Or rather someone.

"Sam…" Deanna muttered cautiously as she side-eyed the raven in the tree across the street that she could swear had been following them throughout town the whole day. "We're being watched."

Humming in a way that showed he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying Sam glanced up and over before rolling his eyes and going back to perusing the police report, somehow not running into any cars or people as they crossed the street. "You're being paranoid again, just like with that toy poodle."

"Hey," she protested, "I was haunted then dude, doesn't count." At Sam's snort Deanna punched his arm. "Shut up man. I'm telling you, there's something seriously off about this fucking bird; it's been watching me like I'm its fucking prey and it's a damn raven not a hawk."

Sighing, Sam finally gave her his undivided attention. "Suppose the bird is watching us," he said, raising his hand to stave off her protests that it damn well was, "what do you suggest we do about it, hm?"

She shrugged. "I don't know but it's giving off these fucking vibes man."

Bitch face number seventy-six firmly in place Sam questioned skeptically, "'Vibe'? You mean like Cas?"

With a groan, Deanna fidgeted while trying to explain it in a way her brother would understand. "Not – exactly. He does give off a vibe, yeah, but all my nerves also tingle when he's nearby. And anyway, he's doing whatever sort of angel business in Rome."

Brow furrowed, Sam struggled to grasp what she was saying. "But it's similar."

"Kinda?" She squirmed. "It feels really familiar too, like I know him, and it's right on the tip of my tongue."

Sam pursed his lips, thinking. "You said it's a raven?"

That question somehow helped something dawn on her. "I know who it is!" exclaimed Deanna before she dashed for the tree the bird was perched in; not even bothering to make sure Sammy was following.

"Wait!" Sam yelled as he sprinted after. "What do you mean you know _who _it is?"

Ignoring the question Deanna clambered up the tree to perch on the limb next to the raven who blinked up at her far too innocently. "I hate to be a downer or anything," she said nonchalantly, "but don't you have better things to do than follow us in the form of a raven – like, oh I don't know, keep all the angels in line?"

With his Sasquatchian height Sam could see and hear clearly what was going on from the ground. "Wait, are you saying this is _Gabriel_? Why? _How?_"

The raven actually shrugged before saying in a very un-bird-like, and very Gabriel-like voice, "Good question Gigantor. Why don't we call up Cassy? He's not too busy."

Rolling her eyes, because she knew for a fact he was indeed busy, Deanna sort of poked at the itch that indicated the connection to Castiel's brain, which allowed their telepathic communication. _Uh Cas. Not to be a bother or anything but could you get your feathery ass over here pronto? We have a bit of a situation._

Then as an afterthought she add, _Oh and I think I just found out a new ability or whatever, so yeah. Whenever you want to zap on over dude._

Just as she finished the tele-message there was a flutter and Cas appeared below the tree next to Sam. Mouth turned up at the corners in a small smile for Deanna he turned his gaze to raven-Gabriel and did his head-cocking thing, which was sort of funny since he was doing it while looking at a bird.

"Gabriel?" he asked as his brow furrowed.

With a caw that sounded distinctly like a laugh raven-Gabriel hopped down to land on top of Castiel's head, much to the seraph's consternation and Sam and Deanna's amusement. "Hey bro, what's flappin'?" Deanna snorted at the corny joke.

Scowling dangerously, the angel attempted to look up at the archangel-turned-raven that was perched in his nest-like bedhead/sex hair. "Why are you a raven? And get off my head," he groused.

Somehow managing to roll his beady eyes in exasperation, Gabriel flapped back into the tree next to Deanna. "There may be a pagan goddess mad at me," he said shiftily.

Rolling her own eyes, Deanna smacked him. "Kali, right? You being your usual dickish self?"

"As if; I was being my usual charming self."

Running a hand through his hair Sam joined in. "There's gotta be a reason Kali would do this; she didn't seem the rash type. So what'd you do?"

Raven-Gabriel sighed dramatically. "What makes you think I did something?" Blank stares. "Fine! Gang up on me why don't you?

"She may have been a little – peeved about how some of her followers just happen to be vessels in-use, and I may have told her to suck it up because they're so hard to come by."

"So she turned your vessel into a raven," deduced Castiel.

"Hold up." Deanna raised a hand slightly. "Why a raven? I mean, I know it's symbolic of the trickster in a lot of cultures and all, but wouldn't an ass be more appropriate in this situation? 'Cause that was kinda rude man, telling her to suck it up when she has so few follower as it is." When Sam and Gabriel stared at her in varying shades of shock she blushed and got defensive. (And how a bird could look skeptical and incredulous Deanna did not know but Gabriel pulled it off somehow.) "What? I know things, I read." Then she blushed even more when she saw Cas' expression: pure, unadulterated adoration. It was sickeningly sweet each of the few times had made such a face. Luckily, to anyone else his expression seemed as impassive as ever; only Deanna was familiar enough to read each nuance for what they were.

"You mean besides porn?" Sam quipped, nearly getting his face kicked in retaliation before he sidestepped in the nick of time.

"Shut up bitch, at least I got good taste."

Making bitch face number sixty-nine and muttering "jerk" Sam got back to the task at hand. "So Kali turned your vessel into a raven and you, what, want us to turn you back to normal?"

"Well duh," the raven said as if it were obvious.

Deanna eyed him skeptically and crossed her arms, straddling the limb and leaning back against the trunk to get more comfortable. "And how do you expect us to do that? And what makes you think we'd agree to help you anyway?"

Raven-Gabriel opened his beak to answer but was interrupted. "Gabriel, you are the last archangel and very nearly the ruler of Heaven, not to mention you 'moonlight'," Deanna smirked at his stilted use of the word, "as a pagan god, and you expect us to believe you are unable to reverse a spell ordered by a pagan goddess with dwindling followers? She is the destroyer, not a goddess of wildlife or transformation."

With that Gabriel seemingly gave up the ruse, snapping back into the form of his vessel, approximately the same size as Deanna if a bit pudgier do to the sweets, dramatic sigh turning into a dramatic pout. "You're such a party pooper, you know that Cassy? Just trying to have a bit of fun with the Wonder Twins."

Squinting his eyes in a way that signaled he was about to say 'I don't understand that reference', Deanna spoke before Cas could. "I don't know dude, we've had some awesome times; he can be pretty _fun _when he wants to be." To fully convey the connotation she was tacking onto the word she smirked and winked down at her angel, who couldn't seem to help sending a rumbling growl through the connection – a noise he knew full well caused a wickedly delicious chill to go up Deanna's spine. Then he flexed his wing so that it brushed over the side of her leg hanging closest to him, electric itch intensifying way too much for such a simple touch and in public, in front of their brothers no less.

A snicker issued down the tree branch when Deanna shivered and nearly swore at Castiel to not do that outside the privacy of a bedroom or motel room so she kicked out at Gabriel savagely, but he just snapped his fingers and suddenly Deanna found herself hanging upside down from the tree so that she was ensconced directly in the space one of Castiel's wings occupied in another dimension. She definitely cursed this time, thrashing around to try and dislodge herself and get away from the full-body, intense tingling, all the while insulting Gabriel. Sam couldn't decide whether he should be laughing or helping his sister down but the point was soon moot as she somehow broke the magical invisible rope and landed face first right at Castiel's feet, who reached down to help her up, sending a telepathic apology for his brother who he squinted at dangerously.

At some point Gabriel had zapped into position next to Sam, from where he examined Deanna and Castiel curiously and critically while she brushed herself off and grumbled about fucking trickster angels. His eyes lit up in a way differing from mischief as he figured out what exactly was different about the pair. "Well I never," he murmured in wonder, making everyone gaze at him in confusion. "Why Cassy! I never knew ya had it in you!"

Frowning, Deanna looked between the two angels. "Had what in you? What's he talking about, the bond?"

"Duh the bond!" Gabriel answered. "This is just too delicious; I've never seen a bond this… complete…" He petered off as he seemed to notice something more, eyes growing wide and slightly glazed.

Sam and Deanna looked at each other, surprised by this sudden and fucking weird silence. "Gabriel?" Sam prodded.

At the noise Gabriel's eyes focused sharply on Cas. "Castiel," he uttered quietly and a bit sorrowfully, which was more than a little disconcerting. "Brother, do you have any idea what you've done, what you've condemned yourselves to?"

"'Condemned'?!" Deanna repeated, alarmed. "What do you mean?" She turned to Cas. "I thought the bond was a good thing!"

"It is…" Cas said, eyes searching Gabriel for clues as to what was going on.

Sam stepped closer. "Then why does he make it sound like you guys are doomed or something?"

"Because they are," Gabriel said, uncharacteristically soft. "Castiel, what do you know of a complete bond?"

Castiel fidgeted, or as much as he was wont to do. "Very little; there is not much information on humans given to seraphs, let alone human-angel relations, particularly given the view on mankind many angels hold."

"Well tell me what you do know." So he did, Deanna adding the few new things she had noticed, including being able to sense raven-Gabriel had been 'off', giving a sort of vibe similar to Cas. "So you're aware of just how much of your soul and Grace you both have given each other," Gabriel stated once they finished, "but do you know what the consequences are of giving half your soul to an angel and receiving vast amounts of Grace while not in the capacity of a vessel?"

Getting a horrible, sickening feeling in her stomach Deanna shook her head.

"Castiel has lengthened your lifespan considerably; you will live way beyond the number of years normal for a human being. You will watch every last member of your family die while you live on for a hundred or so more years." Deanna started to open her mouth to protest, to say she had no family left to watch die, but then she spotted Sammy out of the corner of her eye and her throat and heart clenched, dread sinking to the bottom of her stomach. She had already lost her little brother thrice; she wasn't prepared to lose him again.

Knowing what she was thinking in that moment Sam inched closer so there was barely a breath of air between their sides, offering comfort in a form Deanna would accept as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Then Gabriel continued speaking and it just got worse.

He shifted his gaze from Deanna back to Cas. "You have given her so much of your Grace, not just through the bond but from rebuilding her body, repairing the damage from Hell, healing her countless times – you've given her so much that the pain you will feel when she is injured will be an innumerable count worse when she does die.

"Brother, there is a reason so few angels have formed a complete bond with their charge; you are opening yourself up to a despair none of us have ever known. With her death you will be losing a huge chunk of your Grace; it will feel as if you are being torn apart. Add to that the pain you will feel from the half of her soul you hold – it will rip and tear and scream before withering to nothing but darkness and despair.

"Castiel, you will never be the same. You are opening yourself up to an eternity of listless despair. And I am afraid it could lead you to drastic action that you will forever regret."

Tears ran traitorously down Deanna's cheeks as she listened to Castiel's fate; it sounded far worse than the pain she had left when Sammy died and that had been unbearable. She didn't want Cas to ever feel that sort of pain, not on her watch. So she turned around and fisted her hands in the lapels of his overcoat.

"I am not letting you do that to yourself," she growled up at him, attempting to shake him to draw his complete attention. "We are finding a way to break this bond and return the mojo you gave me because I will not be forcing that on you, not because of _me. _I'm just some mud-monkey, I'm not -"

"Deanna Winchester, so help me, if you say you are not worthy my actions will far from either of our liking," Castiel growled right back, fitting his large, long-fingered hands around her cheeks. "Because you are."

"Cas," she protested brokenly, fidgeting as her eyes flicked briefly over to Sam and Gabriel.

"No," he rumbled. "I do not care about your aversion to emotional declarations. You need to hear this and hear it now.

"This bond is what I want; I am the one who asked for it, who suggested it in the first place. I only regret that you will have to experience the loss of Sam and Bobby once again.

"But whatever happens to me, no matter the pain I feel, I do not care. Because bond or no bond, I will feel the depths of your death Deanna; you marked and changed me from the moment you gripped me back on our ascent from perdition.

"Despair or no – I need you."

Throughout his speech Deanna clung tightly to Castiel's elbows, caught in his since, powerful gaze, blue boring into her green. Without closing her eyes she leaned forward so their foreheads were touching, breathing unsteady, forgetting they had an audience that was shifting awkwardly at the intimacy of the moment – well in Sam's case anyway; Gabriel was smirking knowingly as he munched on some random candy he pulled out of nowhere.

"Cas…" she garbled, their lips almost brushing, his breath ghosting as he gave a broken sigh once he was finished speaking. She had no idea what to say; there was nothing she could say to rival or respond to that, even if she had been even a little bit good with words. So she responded the only effective way she knew how: with actions.

She leaned up on her toes that little bit more, using her grip on his elbows as leverage to bring their lips together in a tender kiss that conveyed she's heard him loud and clear. That his death would affect her nearly as much. That she needed him too.

His hands inched back off her face to twine in her short hair, one moving even further to massage tiny circles at her nape, a particularly sensitive spot. Deanna sighed, her eyes closing as she pressed in closer, needing desperately to get the point fully across, and when she felt Castiel's wings wrap securely around them in a rare intimate, possessive gesture she knew she had succeeded.

There was a pointed clearing of a throat from beside them followed by a wolf whistle, making Deanna lift a hand to flip them both off before giving Castiel one last lingering kiss and pulling away, licking her lips and smirking as his eyes followed the motion rapturously.

"Well now that we've had this conversation and you two are all gung ho about dooming yourselves I'm off." But before he could zap off with a snap Sam grabbed him almost by the scruff of the neck.

"Hold on," he protested. "Thanks to you we've got an angry goddess on our hands. Don't you think we should do something about that?"

Gabriel smirked lecherously. "What do you think I'm off to do?"

Sam snorted. "Excuse me for not believing that one bit, let alone seeing how anything you say or do sways her even one bit."

"He's right Gabriel," intoned Castiel; "someone should accompany you, speak calmly and diplomatically."

"I nominate Sammy." That earned her a bitch face, a scowl, and a raised brow. "Well he did go to school to be a lawyer, so he knows how to negotiate and sway, and he's always the one calming down the crazies; people listen to him 'cause he's all sincere and shit. And Cas and I would be almost as bad as Gabe here, only less creepy and annoying."

Bitch face number twenty-three still in full swing Sam grudgingly agreed. "Fine, I'll go. But you two are coming with me."

"What? Why me? We just went over this Sammy -"

She was cut off by Cas, "He's right; perhaps the presence of two archangel vessels who -"

"Aren't being used as giant angel condoms?"

He ignored her. "- said no, perhaps she will realize these people are willingly agreeing."

Sighing, Gabriel reluctantly agreed. "All right, fine, you may be right."

Deanna kept grumbling even as Castiel and Gabriel set about zapping them to wherever the hell Kali was. "I better get some pie out of this."

_How about something better than pie? _Castiel offered, making her smirk as he placed a hand on her shoulder and Gabriel placed two fingers on Sam's forehead.

* * *

_**Oh look, a bit of angst - and I know Gabe was a bit OOC, but I'm taking some creative liberties here. And the guy's bound to be a bit sympathetic, right? I mean he did care about Michael and Lucifer. - along with the start of a tiny plot line plus, hey, isn't that mutilated body something from the beginning of season six? Hmm... guess we'll just have to see after the whole angry!Kali shtick is dealt with.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hello children! Let me start off by apologizing deeply for the delay. It's by and far nowhere near the longest I've taken to update a fic, but I still feel bad. I'll make it up to you, I promise.**_

* * *

When Deanna and Sam opened their eyes they were in some sort of Hindu palace, the décor fairly subdued. In front of them stood Kali with all four of her arms, flaming as she scowled at Gabriel.

"What do you want, Loki?" she growled. "I thought I told you if I saw you or another angel in my domain again I would watch their wings burn to a crisp as I stabbed them through the heart with that little angel blade you left with me."

This time it was Castiel's turn to scowl as he learned that a pagan goddess had an angel-killing weapon. Gabriel, however, just waved it off.

"Oh, that? That's just a prop I made out of an empty soda can; you shoulda figured that out from last time," he jeered. "And anyway, only an archangel blade can do any damage to me."

As Kali started to raise her two left arms to throw fireballs Deanna nudged Sam in the side with an elbow. "Do something."

"What do you expect me to do to talk down a seriously pissed off pagan goddess?" he muttered back. "You're the one with the angel bits."

"Yeah but that only helps me out with angels," she countered. "This is why we're here, remember? So on with the spiel, Mediator Sammy."

"That's not -" Sam started to protest before Deanna shoved him in front of Gabriel so he was between the archangel and Kali – which she was only willing to do because she knew Cas wouldn't let anything happen to him, and maybe neither would Gabriel.

Really seeing Sam for the first time, Kali scowled even harder, if that was even possible. "Lucifer's vessel," she spat, then looked to the right and slightly behind Castiel, who had started edging in front of Deanna when he saw just how angry Kali was and that she wouldn't care who was affected by her wrath. "And Michael's.

"What do you two want - to start another Apocalypse?"

Deanna rolled her eyes and mock-yawned. "Been there, done that; 's all a bore, really," she scoffed, which earned her an angry buzz and a slap of a wing.

Glaring at the side of Cas' face she continued. "Nah, we're here to help calm you down and understand that vessels are a dime in dozen or whatever, so the angels don't have the luxury of being picky about appearance and shit, let alone religion."

"And angels need permission to enter a human vessel," Sam finally decided to join in with, since this was supposed to be his show and all, "so it's not as if your followers are being taken advantage of.

"Trust us; we would know."

Gabriel smirked. "See, sweet cheeks? Just like I tried to tell ya."

"You're not helping, Gabriel," Castiel reprimanded.

"Yes, general. My apologies, general, sir," Gabriel mocked, causing Castiel to have a strong hankering to roll his eyes in response – something he no doubt learned from the Winchester siblings.

Deanna smacked the back of his head and Sam kicked his shin. "Shut it, featherhead," Deanna snapped; "this is serious."

"Oh really?" he sassed back. "I had no idea. I just brought you knuckleheads in for a chuckle; it's not like I asked for your help or anything, as humiliating as that is."

"Enough," Kali intoned, shaking the foundations of the palace to gain back their attentions. "I will not allow flagrant disuse and mistreatment of my followers.

"I've seen how you treat your vessel, Loki, and I will not allow that to happen to my people."

Rushing in to reassure her, Sam stumbled over his words slightly. "Oh no no no, Gabe's an anomaly; all the other angels are hardwired to just follow orders."

"Yeah, they don't even know the definition of fun, let alone how to have it," Deanna added helpfully.

"What about this one?" Kali asked, nodding at Castiel. "Even we pagans have heard of you: the rebel leader, Castiel."

She looked between him and Deanna. "And I smell you all over Michael's vessel; she reeks of angel even more than she already did."

Unable to stop herself, Deanna surreptitiously sniffed at herself, but of course she couldn't smell anything different; even with her slightly heightened senses all she could smell was herself and Cas, a smell that she quite liked and was very much used to.

"So tell me: is that part of your orders, along with the rebelling? To consort yourself with that?" Kali continued.

"Hey!" Deanna objected while Castiel extended his wing in front of her instinctively.

"That is none of your concern," Cas growled, his voice going impossibly deeper, as it did whenever he felt Deanna was being insulted or threatened in his presence.

"Yeah, don't worry about Cassy," Gabriel brushed off; "he's always been a bit – shall we say – special.

"He's just as much of an anomaly," he glared at Sam for the particular word choice, "as I am, in his own, crazy way. He's got emotions and everything!

"He's actually in love with this one," he motioned at Deanna, "if you can believe it.

"But dingleberries one and two here are right, Kali," he said, stepping around Sam to stand in front of the goddess to grasp her biceps and look into her eyes. "My brothers and sisters, while they won't be as kind to their vessels as Cassy is these days, will still treat them respectfully and leave them to their normal lives once they're done with them, good as new. You have my word on it."

Processing that little speech, Kali responded, "And why should I trust the word of the Trickster god?" Gabe could tell she was slowly melting under his will though.

"Because I wouldn't lie about this; not this heavy, serious shit."

"Yeah, he's a regular Abe Lincoln," Deanna muttered, just barely stopping herself from scoffing.

"George Washington," Sam corrected reflexively.

"Whatever." Deanna rolled her eyes.

Castiel spoke over them. "It's true," he said. "Since his return to Heaven, Gabriel has not played a single trick."

"And, man, has it been boring as all hell," Gabriel whined. "There's no fun in archangel duty – which is probably why Mikey liked it so much

"I swear, if it weren't for the whole Paradise-on-Earth obsession I'd bring him back topside so I could go back to the good ol' days of serving all the douchebags in the world their comeuppance."

Thinking on what they all said, Kali finally put out the fire and her extra set of arms. "All right," she said grudgingly. "But if one angel mistreats one of my people -"

"You have my permission to play with them," Gabriel allowed readily.

"Deal. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

"I'm not arguin' with that," Deanna mumbled, grabbing Castiel's hand as he put two fingers to Sam's forehead, leaving Gabriel to his business.

As soon as they landed in their motel room of the week Deanna voiced what they were all thinking: "Well that went way better than I expected."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: I present smut! With a little bit of plot added onto the end. I told ya I'd make it up to ya!**_

* * *

"You know what's fascinating?" Castiel said from between her legs, calm as you please despite the boner Deanna knew he was sporting and surreptitiously rubbing off slightly on the sheets, while his fingers worked to slowly and methodically crumble her into tiny, trembling pieces of pleasure.

Deanna couldn't help but keen as he stroked across a spot he very well knew was particularly sensitive and full of delicious nerves in the first place but made even more so by just the tiny trickle of bond they left open.

"What's that?" she moaned, her toes starting to curl as she bent her legs and lifted her ass slightly to give him an even better angle.

Humming in appreciation and satisfaction, Cas added another finger, causing her breath to hitch and her muscles to constrict briefly in anticipation and to adjust. "Your scent and taste change when you eat certain things," he answered in a speculative tone. "There's always the underlying current of you, but the added flavors are intriguing.

"For instance, right now you smell like -" he paused to shift his head forward on her thigh, where he had previously been placing little nips and kisses, to bury his nose between the folds to take a good whiff, making her groan, "- like garlic, from the fries you ate at lunch."

Arching her back and grinding her teeth, she tried to retort "Mm, fascinating, really. But I'd really love it if you got on with the sho-ohh" before she cut herself off with a moan as Cas leaned forward again to start massaging her clitoris with his tongue as his fingers began to work more vigorously, drawing out higher and higher pitched moans from his lover.

Soon enough Deanna was orgasming, Castiel continuing to stroke before pulling out his fingers to suck them clean and lap up the rest, making Deanna squeeze her thighs tightly on either side of his head to keep him there.

Chuckling, Castiel pushed her legs away and spread them gently, crawling back up her body to place strategic bites, licks, and kisses before returning to her mouth with groan as Deanna more than willingly kissed back, her tongue stroking every inch of his mouth to get at the taste while her legs wrapped around his waist so she could grind up against his hard cock. Cas pulled back panting to rest their foreheads together, and as he carefully reach between them to line himself up so he could thrust into her wet heat Deanna took advantage of her lusty distraction to flip them over so she was straddling his hips so she could take her turn kissing down his torso as she inched toward the foot of the bed.

"I don't think so mister," she objected. "You've been taking care of me far too much lately; let me take care of you."

She could tell he was about to object – and seriously, who attempts to argue when they're about to get a blowjob? – so Deanna looked up at him through her lashes as she said a word she used so rarely, especially with him: "Please."

And, of course, with the combination of those bottle-green eyes through the veil of golden lashes, that little word, and the prospects of a good blowjob, Castiel relented, twining his fingers loosely through her short hair and giving a small smile. When she didn't move he scowled playfully.

"Well come on," he grumbled. "What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?"

"There you go, actually telling a joke that makes sense – and during sex, no less," Deanna muttered before she leaned down the rest of the way to lick a stripe up the underside of his dick, right along the thick vein, with just enough pressure to make his hips lift a tiny bit in search of more.

"What can I say?" he snarked back with a pant as she circled the crown with her tongue. "You're a bad influence."

Smacking his inner thigh, Deanna pulled back. "Watch it, mister, or I'll leave you high and dry," she threatened. "Though you are kinda right," she added in a murmur before leaning down and bypassing Cas' penis to nip, lick, and fondle his balls, making it his turn to pant and keen breathlessly.

When she could tell that he was going to cooperate nicely (for now), Deanna decided to grant some mercy, finally circling the head of Castiel's dick with her lips and tonguing at the slit, where pre-cum was starting to steadily bead out.

The wet heat was tantalizing, and Castiel needed more, so he thrust his hips up as carefully as he could so as not to set off Deanna's gag reflex, engulfing more of his length inch by torturous inch. Deanna let him, circling with her hand what couldn't fit in her mouth until Cas bottomed out, the head hitting the back of her throat. Looking up through her lashes and seeing the beautiful flush on Cas' chest and his eyes closed Deanna made a decision; she relaxed her throat, making sure the gag reflex wouldn't be set off, and kept going down on his dick until her nose was buried into the coarse, dark pubic hairs of his pelvis.

Gasping as he felt himself going into the tight, wet heat of Deanna's throat, her cheeks hollowing out to tighten around all of him, Castiel struggled to stay still and not thrust up; instead he clutched the sheets in his hands, almost hard and tight enough to rip, and spread out his wings and flapped them restlessly, feeling the tips go through the walls of the far-too-small motel room. His wavering control was lost, however, when Deanna simultaneously did some impossible trick with her tongue, swallowed around his cockhead, massaged his balls, and opened up their bond a tiny bit more and reached a hand up to caress one of his extended wings. From that moment on he didn't care about control; he didn't worry about abusing Deanna's thrust with his rough, rhythm-less thrusts – he just focused on the zinging pleasure racing up his cock, through his nerves and veins, and down his wings. So when he lost that glorious wet, tight heat after a particularly hard thrust Castiel whined in the back of his throat, lifting his head to order Deanna to go back to what she was doing right the fuck now.

Massaging Castiel's trembling thighs, Deanna smirked up at him and rasped out of her battered throat, "Damn we're eager tonight, aren't we?" She received another gravelly whine in just as much of an answer as his thrusting hips that tried to guide his aching cock back into her sweet mouth, making her smirk even more widely and deviously.

"Hmm," she hummed as if thinking about it, "I don't know if you've earned it to be frank; you were being awfully rough back there and I don't know if I appreciated that very much."

Before she could do or say much more Deanna was pulled up the length of Castiel's body and flipped over with a growl, Cas looming over her with dark, lust-blown eyes and a heavy scowl. "I don't know if I appreciate your teasing and attitude," he growled. "Maybe I should just make you take what I give you."

_Holy fuck, _Deanna thought. _How is that so fucking hot?_

Castiel chuckled both through the bond and out loud, his wings coming up and around to caress down her body to draw out an aroused shiver. "Mm that's what I thought."

"I love it when you get all bossy and take charge," Deanna tried to say sarcastically, but it came out far too breathless and truthful to be convincing, making Cas smirk as he leaned down to mouth at her collarbone to distract her as he thrust into her soaking wet pussy without warning, earning a surprised shout turned into a moan, her legs coming up to wrap around his thighs without thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Sam was at the library in the middle of the night (okay, so he broke in) working on research for their latest case to get away from those two (and regretting getting a room next door to theirs), when a certain archangel decided to pop in.

"Heya, Sammy! You miss me?" Gabriel chirped around a mouthful of lollipop.

Sighing, Sam didn't even glance up from the microfiche he was perusing when he muttered, "What do you want, Gabriel?"

"Oh I just thought I'd drop by, see how you were doin'," he answered with faux-innocence before he added nonchalantly, "Figured you'd want to know sooner or later how you got out of the Cage without Lucy running around in that thick skull of yours, but you know, whatever. Guess not."

That got his attention. "What?" Sam demanded, looking at Gabriel sharply. "Do you know something?"

Gabriel snorted. "I should hope so," he said, "considering I'm the one who pulled you out."


End file.
